ms. kuster. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i ask all other members wave their opening remarks as per the committee's cuts tom. hearing no objection, so ordered. i would like to introduce our panel with that. on the panel, we have dr. carolyn clancy. interim undersecretary for health for the department of veterans affairs. michael valintino, chief consultant pharmacy services veteran's health administration. dr. herald cutter and randall william son, director of gao's health care team and dr. jacqueline maffucci research director. dr. clancy, you are now recognized for five minutes. >> good morning, chairman coffman, ranking member, and members of the committee. thank you for the opportunity to discuss the overuse of medication medication. one of the most important priorities at the va is keeping veterans from harm at all times. i am deeply saddened by the tragic outcome involving a veterans veterans. to families here or watching woo who have lost a loved one i want to express my sorrow and regret for your loss. i appreciate yo

ms. kuster. i'm here to announce vha's report on veterans with major sgreess ive disorder, mdd, who were prescribed one or more anti-depressants. mdd is a major risk factor for suicide among veterans. it is particularly debilitating mental illness often associated with severe depression and reduced quality of life. also i will discuss certain aspects vha's suicide prevention program. specifically, i will discuss the incidence of mdd among veterans treated by va the extent that vamc clinicians prescribe anti-depressants to veterans with mdd and monitor anti-depressant use and data vmcs are collecting and reporting on suicides for vha suicide prevention efforts. data shows 10% of veterans were diagnosed with md and 94% of those veterans with md were prescribed one or more anti-depressants. however, the estimate of veterans with mdd may be low because in reviewing a sample of medical records from selected vmacs we found vmacs do not always correctly report and record confirmed mdd diagnosis among ve

ms. holmes released to the committee? >> i would have to take that question for the record. i would say in general the behavior health autopsy reports, i think the ranking member kuster described this more clearly than i could, this is part of quality assurance where you want the most forthright kind of input and observations. and if people think that this is going to be disclosed we will not get input that is that forthright. >> i think we're very concerned about the fate of our veterans. and this subcommittee and the committee as a whole has a responsibility -- oversight responsibility for your operation and we can't do that oversight operation, in doing -- making policy that is best for our veterans if you don't fulfill your obligation and submit that information when requested to the congress. ranking member kuster? >> thank you very much, mr. chair. and thank you to all of our witnesses, and particularly dr. maffucci i really appreciate you being here and sharing with us the recent experience of the veterans returning from as you mentioned 14 years of conflict. and that the injuries are much more complex. i mean the good news is people are surviving the difficul

ms. holmes released but not others? >> i would have to take that question for the record. i would say in general the behavior health autopsy reports, i think the ranking member kuster described this more clearly than i could, this is quality asurasurance and if people think this is going to be disclosed disclosed we will not get information that is forthright. >> we are concerned about the veterans and the committee has oversight responsibility for your operation and we cannot do that oversight operation and making policy that is best for the veterans if you don't fulfill your obligation and submit that information when requested to the congress. >> ranking member kuster? >> thank you. i appreciate you being here and the veterans returning from the 14 years in conflict. the injuries are complex but the good news is people are surviving but the difficulty is chronic life long issues. i want to focus on how we move forward -- i share concerns about the data and making sure we are getting at the heart of the issue here -- but i am interested, i had a meeting with the team at the white river junction facility and there is cutting-edge research and i am i will talk to the chair a